


Smells like "I love you"

by MiniRaven



Category: Captain America (Movies), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alpha Steve Rogers, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alpha/Omega, Car Sex, Christmas Party, Consent, Fluff and Smut, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Omega Tony Stark, Omega Verse, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Supportive Avengers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-11 08:53:53
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8973025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniRaven/pseuds/MiniRaven
Summary: Steve is having a hard time coming to terms with parts of the future. More precisely, he's having problems coming to terms with his relationship with Tony Stark on and off the field. He visits Peggy for a little advice, but gets a little more than he barged for when he walks in the room.Completely consensual with no rape/ non-con undertones.Spoilers in the tags.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [afincf_tirwer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/afincf_tirwer/gifts).



> Set after the events of Winter Soldier, but before Age of Ultron. Just go back to that time when fandom saved Bucky from eternal torment and authors made sure everyone had a happy ending.
> 
> This is my first time attempting an A/O/B- AU, so I hope it's satisfying. I really wanted to stay away from ware/ non-con elements, so sorry if it's not A/O/B enough.
> 
> Thanks go to Amonae for the beta.

The nursing home looked the same as always when Steve pulled up in his motorcycle; a quaint little island of peace and tranquility. Bright emerald evergreen trees stood proud in stark contrast to the barren brown maple trees. Remnants of once-white snow littered the ground in small icy mounds along the sides of the parking lot.

Men and women Steve’s age (he was counting those years in the ice) meandered about inside the warm building, taking the time to enjoy another New York winter as their internal clocks counted down. Steve could see a few warming their feet by the fire as the lights from the Christmas tree twinkled in the early afternoon sunlight.

Steve tried not to think about how he should be in here with them, but it was difficult. It was no one’s fault that he had been frozen for seventy years, but the guilt still chewed at his subconscious. The architecture of the retirement home was reminiscent of the 1940’s and it made Steve pine for a simpler time. Days when he knew who were the good guys, who were the bad guys. Days when he knew what to do, what to say, how to act in modern society, and when his best friends weren’t dead or in the process of dying.

It was depressing to think about, but he made it a point to come down and visit Peggy every Tuesday-- It was more than anything her blood relatives ever did. Besides Bucky, they were the last of their kind, and Steve didn’t want to leave anyone else to die alone.

As he took off the heavy leather gloves, Steve noticed a bright red car parked at the far end of the parking lot. He figured it was just some young thing coming around to pay their respects and then beg for money out of their relative’s inheritance. He made a brief note of it, for security reasons, as he walked into the retirement home.

Steve let out a deep sigh as he walked up to Peggy’s door. How would she be today? Would she remember him? Would she be there for a few minutes and then gone the next?

Steve really need to talk to her today, now more than ever. For the most part, things in his life had been going great; he was making new friends, learning new things about the world and technology, and he had even gotten Bucky back with the help of his team. It had taken months of hard work, but with Tony’s special tracking program he had specifically created to aid Steve, they had been able to find the Winter Soldier and bring home the long-lost Bucky Barnes.

But as happy as Steve was to share his success with rescuing Bucky, he needed to talk to Peggy about Tony. Peggy was Tony’s godmother. She of all people would know what to do about Steve’s ‘ _special’_ situation.

Bucky had offered to help, but Steve didn’t think he was up to the job. He had been brainwashed and asleep for the better part of seventy years. Besides, Steve’s situation felt like it required a little more tact than Bucky’s standard answer of, _‘Punch or shoot it in the face until it’s better.’_

Letting out a heavy breath, Steve rapped on the door to Peggy’s room and waited for a worn, “Come in,” from the other side. To his surprise, the door opened on its own and Steve was hit with the sudden smell of beta.

“Steve?” Tony said, a bewildered look on his face. His dark grey suit was a tad rumpled, as if he had just come back from a business trip. But he didn’t smell like stale, recycled air. He smelled like beta.

Steve nodded, equally surprised to see the man.

“What are you doing here?” Tony asked, leaning against the door frame as he sized Steve up.

“It’s Tuesday,” said Steve, as if that answered the question.

Tony rolled his eyes. “I know it’s Tuesday. That doesn’t explain why you’re here.”

“I always visit Peggy on Tuesdays.”

“Steve.” Peggy’s delighted voice came from further inside the room. “We were just talking about you. Come in. Come in.”

With a reserved flourish, Tony held the door open as Steve walked into the room.

“Hey Peg,” Steve said with a strained smile. “Brought you some flowers.”

“Why would you bring those things,” Peggy tutted. “Flowers should be for the dead or the sick and I’m neither. I’m as healthy as a horse if only Tony would let me out of bed.”

Steve let out a tired breath. It was going to be one of those days.

“Oh, Auntie Peg, if you were fifty years younger, I’d make sure you’d never be able to leave bed,” Tony said with a flirtatious wink that Steve was all too familiar with.

“Tony!” Steve’s ears burned red, scandalized that Tony would dare say something like that in front of Peggy.

Peggy clicked her tongue in fond annoyance. “Don’t bother Steve. That’s what Howard would said when he was your age.”

Tony stifled a laugh.

“Tony dear,” said Peggy, reaching for a remote on her side table, “Could you go fetch me a vase and some water?”

Tony glanced at Steve, but Steve couldn’t meet his gaze. “Sure, Aunt Peg. Be right back,” Tony said with a reserved smile.

As the door closed behind him, Peggy looked at Steve and smiled. She motioned for him to bring the flowers closer. “They’re beautiful Steve. You really didn’t have to,” she cooed, crinkling the paper under her weathered fingers.

Steve’s cheeks turned a light pink. “Maybe, but what if I wanted to give flowers to my best girl?” Steve asked, taking a seat. “Tis the season. Add a little color to your room.”

Peggy clicked her tongue. “Flowers this pretty should be given to the special lady in your life. Not an old woman like me.”

Steve chuckled. “Sorry Peg, no woman could ever replace you.”

“Then how about a man?”

Steve was so startled that he almost fell out of his seat. “Peggy!”

“Oh don’t ‘Peggy’ me, Steve,” she said, clueless as to how scandalized Steve looked. “Times have changed. You missed a lot during that seventy-year sleep of yours.”

Steve let out a tired sigh. “Don’t remind me,” he muttered sinking into his chair with grief.

Peggy’s cheerful smile disappeared. “Steve,” she said, placing a vulnerable hand on Steve’s knee. “It’s okay to be sad. It’s okay to miss the people you love. If it helps any, I miss them too. And I’ll miss you too when I’m gone.”

“I just don’t know if I can anymore,” Steve said, running a hand through his hair. “Everything’s so different now, Peg. Not just technology or innovation, everything. What people eat, how they walk, how they dress, how they treat alphas, betas, and omegas, sometimes it’s just so much and so new, I don’t know what to do.”

“But New York hasn’t changed,” reassured Peggy, her many years of experience emphasizing her words. “It may look different, bigger, flashier, more people, more rules, less shame, but its heart hasn’t changed. People don’t change either. For better or worse, their hearts never change. You just need to be willing to open up to someone. Trust someone enough to let them take the reins.

“Find yourself a good omega,” she said, patting his knee. “They have mark guards and better birth control now than we ever had. And if you can’t find someone, just let me know. I have someone in mind who might be your type.”

“Thanks Peg,” Steve said with an embarrassed smile. “But I’ve got it covered.”

 

* * *

 

“Fuck, Steve,” Tony moaned as he clawed for the handle above the inside of the car door. His cries echoed off the fabric-lined walls of the small red car, making Steve’s cock twitch with need.

Steve growled, forcing himself to keep still. Tony had taken Steve’s cock all the way down to the top of his knot, but it wasn’t enough. He wanted more. Steve wanted to be so deep into the omega that he could feel Tony’s prostate against the blunt head of his cock. He wanted to force Tony’s tight hole over his big knot, making Tony howl so loud that everyone in the seniors center could hear them from where they were in the far part of the parking lot. But the omega above him was sweating up a storm as he tried to accommodate Steve’s girth, panting and gasping for air while trying to relax.

“So beautiful,” Steve panted as he ran his hands up and down Tony’s sides, trying to hold back the raw need in his voice. “So fucking beautiful.”

Tony chuckled, labored breath fogging up the windows. “And you’re so fucking big. Three fingers is barely enough prep when it comes to you.”

“But you take it so well,” Steve purred, rolling his hips.

Tony gasped. His eyes rolled toward the car roof as he arched back like a cat. The scars across his chest stretched like a flower.

Steve grinned, digging his fingers into Tony’s sides. He felt a primal urge to claim the man rise up in his chest. Steve had covered the rancid smell of Tony’s fake beta cologne with his own alpha sweat, but it wasn’t enough. The desire to mark Tony as his own was overwhelming. He wanted to mar Tony just like the beautiful scars covering the omega’s heart. The need to thrust deep inside the omega, tear Tony’s hole open with his giant knot, make Tony his for all the world to see, bite down and mark Tony’s neck, permanently scarring him. His instincts screamed to take Tony as his own, but in the back of his mind, Steve reminded himself that such a fantasy was impossible.

Tony wasn’t his. Tony would never be his. They were just friends with benefits. Nothing more than fuck buddies who met up occasionally to help take the edge off breeding instincts.  Tony wasn’t Steve’s omega any more than Steve was Tony’s alpha.

Steve bit down on his tongue, resisting the urge to bite and force Tony down on his knot. Instead, Steve reached up and wrapped his arms behind Tony’s head, running his fingers through the short hair at the back of Tony’s neck. A shiver ran down Tony’s spine as he became putty in Steve’s arms.

“Come here,” Steve rasped, pulling Tony down so their chests were only inches apart.

Tony smiled. Taking the hint, he closed his eyes and pressed a chaste kiss against Steve’s lips. Steve hummed, his nerves humming with pleasure. As Tony pulled away, Steve chased after the warmth. He caught Tony’s bottom lip between his teeth and nipped at the soft flesh. With little effort, Steve pulled Tony back down into the kiss. Steve’s tongue gently pressed against Tony’s mouth searching for more. Tony’s smile grew as his lips parted effortlessly under Steve’s tongue, welcoming the wet heat.

As their tongues mingled with each other, Steve’s entire body felt like one giant heartbeat. Every part of his soul begged for more. If he didn’t knot Tony soon, Steve felt like he was going to explode. Steve rolled his hips, trying desperately to bury his knot past the rim and deep into Tony’s ass.

Tony gasped, breaking the kiss. Steve whined, chasing after his lips but Tony stopped him. “Tony,” Steve murmured, eyes dilated and desperate with lust.

“Calm down silly alpha. Not going anywhere,” Tony purred, gently caressing Steve’s cheek.

The panic in Steve’s chest faded as he leaned into the touch. As he sunk into the leather seat, Tony straightened so his hole was in line with Steve’s cock. He closed his eyes and let out a shaky breath. Slowly, he sunk down, engulfing Steve’s cock down to the root.

Steve cried out at the sudden wet warmth. His hips bucked up and Tony let out a lusty sob of pleasure.

“Steve,” Tony moaned, on the verge of losing himself in the moment. But Steve was too far gone. His fingers dug into Tony’s sides, holding him still as he pushed his cock in and out of Tony’s wet hole.

“Fuck, Steve.” Tony clawed at anything he could get his hands on. His palms left streaks across the foggy windows. His nails uselessly scraped the fabric lining the roof of the car. His fingers fumbled around the handle above the door as he held on for dear life.

Steve’s cock grazed Tony’s prostate. Tony bit down hard on his lip until the tender flesh was the same shade of red as his cock.

Steve growled. The omega above him was resisting. **His** omega was resisting.

Steve pushed himself up in the seat, his cock thrusting deeper inside Tony’s ass. He feels his cock graze across Tony’s sweet spot, earning a well-deserved gasp out of the beautiful man.

Steve grabbed Tony’s hands and wrapped them around the back of his head. Without a word, Tony’s fingers dug into the blond locks, anchoring himself to the alpha.

Steve looked into Tony’s eyes, dark with desire. He pulled Tony into a long, messy kiss before moving down to Tony’s throat. Tony moaned as Steve lavished the small strip of skin above the leather collar covering Tony’s neck and bonding gland.

“Fuck,” Tony groaned, grinding into Steve’s heat. “So fucking – ah!”

Steve wrapped a warm hand around Tony’s reddened cock. Using the pre-come as a lubricant, Steve worked his hand up and down Tony’s shaft. Tony cried out in pleasure, moving his hips in time with Steve’s shallow thrusts as they bounced up and down in the car.

“Tony, I’m gonna-” The words were lost as Tony bore down on Steve’s cock.

“That’s fine,” Tony’s eyes were glassed over with lust. “Knot me. Take everything you need.”

Steve lasted a few more thrusts and then he was coming. Blood rushed to his knot as it filled Tony’s ass. White, hot come filled the condom as Tony screamed. Steve dug his fingers into Tony’s flesh, marking him for all the world to see. His mouth latched onto the fabric around Tony’s neck. He bit down, hard, jaw locking into place as a flood of hormones released into his system. Steve growled into the collar. His eyes rolled up into the back of his head as he gave in to his baser instincts.

With a few more pumps of his hand, Tony was coming too, spilling his omega seed all over Steve’s hand and across their chests like a modern art piece. Tony’s ass clamped down on Steve’s knot, locking them in place. Steve whimpered as another pulse of come was squeezed from his cock. He tried to push his seed deeper into Tony, but his knot wouldn’t budge. Tony’s ass held him snugly in place. They were locked in and Steve’s come wasn’t going anywhere except into the condom.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, panting and gasping as the warm release of ecstasy settled into their bones. As his heartbeat began to calm down, Steve could feel the gentle brush of Tony’s fingers running through his sweaty hair. He could hear the whisper of Tony’s soothing tenor voice, but he couldn’t make out the words. Hot blood roared like lava in Steve’s ears and the hormones in his system made it hard to focus on anything besides Tony’s warm hole.

“What did you say?” he asked against the collar.

A smile came through Tony’s voice. “I said, ‘If I had known car sex made your knot this big, I would have suggested it weeks ago.’”

Steve wanted to groan. “Shut up.” His voice was muffled by the thick fabric.

Tony grinned. “Make me,” he leered, rolling his hips and encouraging another pulse of come into the condom. Steve growled, biting down onto the cloth so hard it felt like his teeth would break.

Tony gasped. He gently tugged at Steve hair until the alpha let go. “Careful,” he warned Steve with a smile. “You may not be able to mark me, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt.”

Steve nodded, wiping the saliva from around his mouth. His jaw ached, but it was the good kind of ache. It was the kind of ache that came with a flood of ‘feel good’ hormones. “Where did you get it?” he asked, motioning to the black cloth. “You didn’t have this last week.”

“Internet,” Tony said, tugging at the thick fabric encasing his neck and the tops of his shoulders. “Part of the birth control package. Thought you might be tired of biting your arm every time we have sex, so I made a little investment on your behalf. Do you like it?”

Steve shook his head vehemently. “No, it’s good. Could have used these in the war. Too many stories of alphas in uniform marking up an omega when they got lost in the moment. Absolute mess to deal with.”

“I hear you on that one,” said Tony, unzipping the front of the collar and tossing the drool covered cloth to the floor of the car.

“So,” Tony pushed Steve back into the seat and flopped down on Steve’s chest, propping his hands and head just below Steve’s collarbones. “We’ve got about twenty minutes before you get soft. How about some small talk?”

Steve cocked an eyebrow. “Really?”

“I’m being serious,” Tony teased. “Your cock in my ass, can’t think of anything else to do to pass the time. I mean, we could talk about the sex we just had and come up with the groundbreaking discovery of, ‘It’s cramped and not too comfortable. Let’s not do it again.’ But I don’t think that would take up the full twenty minutes.”

Steve snorted. “I don’t know. I think you underestimate how quick shop talk makes me go soft.”

“No, I think you're underestimating the impression your knot leaves in my ass. When I say your average is twenty minutes, believe me,” Tony said, playfully bopping Steve on the nose, “it’s twenty minutes.”

Steve tried to hide his amusement, but a hit of a smile curled up one side of his face. No matter what, he knew Tony was right. Considering how frequently they had sex, and the fact that he had been exclusive with the omega since he had woken up from the ice, Tony would be the one who knew best.

“So,” drawled Tony as he drew invisible shapes across Steve’s chest. “What are you up to after this?”

Steve let out a heavy sigh, sinking into the leather seat. There were other, more important things on his mind (and around his dick), but if he must-

“Well, we have that big Christmas party in a few weeks. Invitation said formal dress, so I was planning on going to the store and trying on a few tuxes.”

Tony’s fingers froze above Steve’s heart. “Wait, don’t tell me you’re going to _rent_ a tuxedo or, even worse, buy it off the rack.”

Steve squirmed. “I mean, I don’t see myself using it more than once.”

Tony sighed. “Oh Steve, you have so much to learn.”

Tony made a grabbing motion for his pants. With Steve’s help, Tony pulled his phone out of his discarded pants pocket and began tapping away at the screen. “Clear your schedule for tomorrow. We’re going out together to pick you out something nice,” he said, face glowing from the light of the phone with something akin to affection.

Steve let out a frustrated sigh. “Tony, I don’t think-”

“Oh, come on,” Tony said with a childish pout. “Indulge me this once. Your fashion choices are horrible and if you had it your way, you’d show up in a second-hand jacket a size too small and suspenders.”

“I would not,” Steve sulked.

But the sad truth was that Steve really would.

 

* * *

 

 

The next day, just as he promised, Tony took Steve out shopping for a suit.

“What do you think?” Tony asked, meandering up to the alpha as Steve adjusted a new jacket. Tony had been wandering around the high-end store for a good ten minutes while Steve got fitted. He presented Steve with three black ties that had a slight color variation and seemed smugly satisfied with his selection. “Midnight, ebony, or onyx?”

Steve squinted at the three ties and then down at the loosely fitted suit. “Does it matter? They all look the same to me.”

Tony’s mouth dropped open. “They are _not_ all the same,” he squawked. “This one has a little more grey in it to match your suit and _this_ one has just enough blue to bring out your eyes. Here, let me show you.”

Tony placed two of the ties down on the display and slung the other one over his shoulder. Before Steve could say anything about doing it himself, Tony was centimeters away from his face, hard at work turning up the stiff collar. Steve’s heart thumped in his chest as his senses were overwhelmed with Tony’s distinct scent.

“Chin up, please,” Tony said as a gentle finger pushed Steve’s head toward the white florescent lights.

Steve gave a shallow nod as he swallowed his nerves, painfully aware of how his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down along the pale line of his throat. Tony’s hands radiated a familiar warmth as they moved around his neck. His fingers grazed across the invisible hairs of Steve’s neck, sending a full body shiver down his spine. Steve tried to keep perfectly still as Tony’s rough fingers worked their magic around his throat, but it was hard.

His heart was beating like a racehorse, sending hot blood up to his pale cheeks and straight down to his twitching cock. Steve tried to slow down his breathing and keep his mind out of the gutter, but everything around him felt so sharp and bright it was hard not to notice things.

The white light from the florescent lights burned through his eyelids. Tony’s warm, steady breath rolling across Steve’s chest made his skin prickle up with goose bumps. Steve tried to take deep, calming breaths, but there was something in the air that wasn’t sitting right in his gut. Something was off. Not a life threatening _something_ , but it was definitely important that he figure it out.

Steve took a quick sniff of the air and tried to place the scent. It reminded him of fresh air from the stratosphere, a heavy musk of sweat from hard work, and underlying all that, the faintest trace of motor oil. It was warm, comforting, and familiar. But Steve wasn’t used to smelling it here.

Out here in the open, in front of so many people, it smelled wrong. Steve wanted to bottle up the smell and hid it away from the world. Not because he was ashamed of it, but because he wanted to lay claim to it and keep it for himself.

Steve racked his brain for an answer. ‘Where did he remember this scent from?’

“Everything okay?” asked Tony.

Steve looked down. As he looked into Tony’s deep brown eyes, the realization hit him like a bolt of lightning.

‘The bedroom,’ Steve thought. ‘This smell came from the well-used sheets of Tony’s bedroom.’

“You smell like an omega,” he told Tony, the words slipping out of his mouth before he could consider the consequences of outing the prominent omega in public.

Steve expected Tony to get defensive. After all, Tony had said he was in the closet for the sake of his business.

But Tony just shrugged his shoulders and answered nonchalantly, “What did you expect me to smell like? Sex? I made sure to take a shower after your impressive performance in the car yesterday left me smelling like a musky alpha gym.”

Steve shook his head. “No, that’s not what I’m talking about. Whenever you go outside, you smell like a beta.” Steve expected Tony to get defensive about the observation, but instead Tony gave another small shrug.

“Didn’t put on my beta cologne today.”

Steve’s heart skipped a beat. “Why?” he asked a little too eagerly.

“Maybe I didn’t feel like it.” Tony’s fingers froze under the silk. He looked up at Steve through long, thick, beautiful eyelashes. “Why? Do you like it better when I smell like a beta?”

“No!” Steve’s eyes locked with Tony’s. An embarrassed blush flooded Steve’s cheeks. Steve turned his head and looked at the ground, trying not to think about how Tony’s eyes sparkled in the florescent light. “No, that’s not it at all. I-I like it when you smell like you. It’s nice.”

“Oh,” Tony said quietly.

Tony finished the knot in silence, expertly working it so the knot was snug up against Steve’s throat but not so tight as to cause Steve pain.

“Here,” said Tony, placing a hand on Steve’s back and maneuvering him toward a mirror. “Have a look.”

Steve looked at the reflection in the mirror and his mouth dropped.

“Wow,” he said, though the word did little to express the possessiveness and pride filling his chest.

With Tony by his side, they looked like a couple. A real actual couple that didn’t just have sex for the heck of it.

In the suit, Steve was the embodiment of a strong alpha. Rich, famous, and ready to do anything for his mate. Tony stood close to Steve’s side, his well fitted jacket, loose jeans, and a well-loved shirt looking too casual compared to Steve’s suit, but something about the image just seemed right. They didn’t match, but the reflection felt like two pieces of a puzzle coming together. They looked like more than friends. In Steve’s eyes, they looked like lovers.

“Beautiful,” Steve whispered.

“Yeah,” said Tony with a satisfied smile. “Not too bad if I say so myself.”

He gave Steve a solid pat on the shoulder as he stepped away from the mirror. “The reporters are going to have a hard time taking their eyes off of you when you get out of the car,” Tony said with a smile as he folded the unused ties.

Steve’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean? Their eyes always go to you when you make an appearance.”

“Which is why everyone is arriving separately this year. No more competing for the spotlight.”

Steve felt the floor crumble under his feet. “What? Why? I thought we were going as a group. Why wasn’t I informed?”

Tony frowned. “I thought you knew. I even wrote something for the briefing.”

“When?”

Tony shrugged. “A few weeks ago, if I remember correctly. After the Bellagio incident?”

Steve tried to recall that meeting, but came up short. He didn’t remember that report. He had been too busy being horny, imagining in graphic detail all the things he would do to Tony as soon as the wretched meeting let out. Damn his hormones.

Tony let out an uncomfortable cough. “I… um… take it that you’re not cool with going stag,” he said, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.

“No, I can. It’s just… I didn’t expect it to be like this.”

“Okay, no problem. Don’t get your tights in a knot,” said Tony, phone already in hand as he furiously typed message after message. “I’ll just tell everyone to go in pairs. Bruce was saying how he wasn’t looking forward to the attention. That better?”

Steve nodded, already feeling the knot of anxiety in his stomach loosen. “Yeah, sorry for causing you problems.”

Tony waved off the apology. “Don’t worry about it, Steve. Just need to make a few changes here and there. Go ahead and get changed. I’ll meet you at the front.”

Steve nodded and ducked into the dressing room, thankful that he didn’t have to go it alone.

“So,” Tony said, dragging out the word like a naughty child as Steve ducked out from behind the curtain of the dressing room. “Got anyone in mind?”

“For what?” asked Steve.

Tony rolled his eyes. “To go to the Christmas party with you.”

‘You,’ Steve thought, but that wasn’t an acceptable answer for a sex friend.

“Well,” Steve said, shoving his hands deep into his jean pockets. “My neighbor across the hall was asking if I want to meet for coffee.”

Tony moved forward, looking intrigued. “That’s a good sign,” he said with an encouraging smile.

Steve gave an uncommitted shrug. “I guess, but think a formal dinner might be a bit too much for her. You know, regular gal, works in an office from nine to five, fancy dinner party where each plate is worth more than a hundred dollars, just doesn’t feel right.” Plus, he didn’t see Sharon Carter as _fancy dinner date_ material.

Tony frowned. “I guess when you put it that way-”

Tony’s phone buzzed in his pocket. Without another word, Tony pulled out his cell and began to type away at the holographic keyboard.

Steve waited impatiently for Tony to finish, but there was an insistent question nagging at him ever since Tony suggested that the Avengers go in pairs.  “What about you?”

“Me?” asked Tony, engrossed in his phone.

Steve nodded. “Who would you go with?”

Tony’s fingers hovered over the keyboard for a second. Then, he let out a sigh and shoved the phone into his pocket. “Don’t know. Pepper is away on business, and it’s hard to get a girl to be my arm candy on such short notice. If I call them this close to the party, it makes them feel like they’re special. Then they start thinking that we’re dating and wanting a bigger commitment, it’s just a big mess when you come down to it. Too complicated.”

“We should go together. Save you the trouble,” blurted Steve, not thinking of the consequences.

Tony raised a curious eyebrow. “But what about your neighbor?”

Steve brushed the suggestion away. What was he even thinking bringing up Peggy’s niece? “A formal Christmas party carries a lot more gravity than getting coffee. I’m sure she won’t mind not being invited. Besides, after the mess we made getting Bucky back, now would be a good time to show a unified front. Past and future working together.”

Tony snorted. “Sounds patriotic when you say it like that,” he said, a hint of bitterness in his voice.

“Then let me put it this way,” proposed Steve. “On a personal note, I’d really like to go with you. I think we’d look good together.”

Tony looked at Steve, stunned into silence. As the seconds ticked by, Steve began to fidget. Had he said something wrong? Had he broken some unspoken rule between fuck buddies?

But the tension broke the moment Tony choked on a laugh.

“I swear,” Tony said with a tenderness he usually reserved for post-coital pillow talk. “One day you’ll be the death of me.”

“Is that a yes?” asked Steve, barely containing an excited smile.

“Only if you don’t mind,” Tony said, face practically beaming.

“No! No, god no. Why would you think that?”

“Well, I mean, taking into consideration the nature of our relationship, not telling anybody, not even Pepper or Rhodey, one could make assumptions,” Tony said, squirming as he dug his hands deep into his jean pockets.

Steve’s smile fell. His hand raised to comfort the omega, but Steve stopped himself. It wasn’t his place. “Tony, just because we’re… um…”

“That,” Tony spat as if the word were poisonous.

“Right,” affirmed Steve, too embarrassed to say it aloud. “It doesn’t mean I don’t want to be seen with you.”

Tony snorted. “Could have fooled me.”

Something flickered in Steve’s chest. It wasn’t pride or anger, but it was something close.  He puffed out his chest and said, “In that case, let me make it perfectly clear.” Without any hesitation, Steve got down on one knee and took Tony’s hand in his.

Keeping his face stone-cold serious, Steve asked the man loud and clear, “Would you, Anthony Edward Stark, like to go to the annual Christmas dinner with me?”

Tony stared down at Steve, his mouth open like a fish. Then, he snorted. “You don’t have to give me a marriage proposal Steve.” The humor faded from his eyes. “But, to answer your question, yes. Yes, I’d like to go to the Christmas dinner with you, if you’ll have me.”

“I was the one to ask. Seems a little mean to take it back at this point.”

“Not to mention I’d have to cancel our limo.”

Steve’s brow twisted in confusion. “When did you order a limo?”

“Just now.” Steve looked down just in time to see Tony’s thumb finish off a text and sent it into cyberspace.

“Tony,” Steve warned.

“Too late,” said Tony, hopping out of Steve’s space. “I’ve arranged for the car to come pick you up at five, right on the dot. Don’t be late.”

 

* * *

 

Steve wasn’t late. The limo picked him up at five on the dot, just like Tony said. Which was good because it gave Steve no time to second guess leaving the small arrangement of flowers at home. He had been debating about bringing Tony flowers for the entire week leading up to the Christmas party **_._ ** Should he give Tony flowers when they met up? Seemed like a standard practice when people went out someplace nice. But they were just friends. Friends didn’t give flowers to other friends unless they were sick or it was their birthday. But what if it was like the prom? He had seen enough movies to know that men wore flowers in their shirt and got flowers for their girl.

It didn’t happen often in movies, but when friends went to the dance together, they got each other flowers. Wouldn’t it be the same for them? Dress up for a nice party, buy a corsage or a boutonnière to pin on the person going with you?

Either way, Steve didn’t know. He had bought a small bouquet of flowers in a frenzied panic the day before and promptly talked himself out of it the second the limo pulled up to the curb.

A choice he came to regret the moment Tony stepped into the limo.

“Hey,” Tony said with a relaxed smile. He slid into the backseat alongside Steve as Happy closed the door behind him. A warm gust of wind swirled around Tony, filling the car with Tony’s familiar scent. A shiver ran down Steve’s spine as his chest swelled with pride. Tony looked absolutely breathtaking.

“Hey,” Steve said, unable to contain the smile as it spread across his face. “You look good.” He wanted to say more, but his lungs felt small and constrained like they did when he had asthma all those years ago.

Tony smiled, his eyes twinkling under long, dark lashes as they pulled away from the building and out into the bustling street. “Thanks, I try.”

‘I think the flowers I got you would go really well with your suit,’ Steve wanted to say remembering the flowers he’d left on his kitchen counter. Instead, he held his tongue and the two sat in silence as Happy drove them to the party.

Honestly, Steve was grateful for the lack of conversation. He had too many thoughts in his head and not enough words to expresses the emotional chaos of his mind and heart.

His palms were sweaty like a teenager’s and his heart was beating fast in his chest. Out of the corner of his eye, Steve caught the light from the street playing off Tony’s face. The way the different angles and colors highlighted the planes of his face and danced off his long lashes, Steve couldn’t take his eyes off the man.

“A present from someone?”

“Huh?” Steve snapped out of his daydream.

Tony pointed to the white flower adorning Steve’s jacket. “Boutonnières are only worn for proms, weddings, or if someone is trying to make a very loud statement about claiming an alpha or omega. Wasn’t going to say anything at first, but I thought you should know before we get there.

“I mean, if you’re announcing to the world that you’re claimed, that’s fine,” Tony said, crossing his arms defensively as if the eye-catching white flower was no big deal. “It just, it doesn’t seem like something you’d buy, but, you never know. I could be mistaken and you actually have someone who-”

Steve flushed. “No! Nothing like that. I just wasn’t quite sure how things are done,” Steve said, trying to hide his embarrassment. “Back in the day, I was never invited to these kinds of parties. And things have changed so much in the past seventy years, I wasn’t quite sure what was expected of me. Do I bring flowers? Do I wear flowers? The internet is helpful, but it has its limits.”

He snuck a look at Tony and immediately regretted it. “I might have gone a little bit overboard, huh?”

Tony snorted, the side of his mouth ticking up into a smug smirk. “Maybe a little. But, it’s nothing that can’t easily be fixed,” he said, tapping the part of his chest that mirrored the location of the flower.

Steve’s face turned beet red as he gave an embarrassed nod. He had nothing to be ashamed of, but the way Tony looked at him, it made Steve want to squirm right out of his pants.

Steve tried to spin the clasp around to release the pin holding the boutonniere to his lapel, but his fingers couldn’t catch the lock. His thumb was already too big to fit in the tiny groove and his hands felt large and clumsy as he failed to spin the silver metal open over and over again.

Steve fiddled with the confounded simple machine for about a full minute before Tony let out an exasperated sigh and made a grabby motion with his hands. “Here, let me take care of it, you big oaf. We’re almost there.”

Steve scowled, but he knew when to pick his battles. And fighting against a simple metal pin that an eight year old could figure out was not a battle Steve had his pride set on winning.

Steve sighed, let go of the flower, and moved closer to the middle of the back seat. With a smug smile, Tony stretched over the empty middle seat and worked his magic. His fingers moved with practiced precision as they spun the clasp around the pin and knocked the needle out of its hole.

For those few seconds that Tony was in his personal space, the alpha let Tony’s familiar, calming scent wash over him like refreshing water.

Tony still wore that repulsive beta cologne, but this time it wasn’t overwhelming Steve’s instincts with a sense of ‘wrong’ like it did when Steve went to see Peggy. There was enough beta smell that if anybody casually passed by, they wouldn’t suspect anything was amiss. But, there was also a subtle, underlying scent of omega.

Steve’s heart fluttered in his chest as he took in another breath. Tony’s scent, though muted, was there for all the world to see. Maybe Tony remembered Steve’s preference for his omega scent and allowed himself to smell like an omega for Steve. Sure it wasn’t as open and proud as Steve would have liked, but that small fact didn’t quell his pride.

Steve wanted to puff out his chest, but Steve’s head told his heart not to jump to conclusions. This might be Tony’s way of slowly and subtly coming out to the world as an omega, but it didn’t mean he was doing it because of Steve. It didn’t mean Tony was outing himself as an omega just because Steve ‘liked his scent.’

After all, they were just friends with benefits. Fuck buddies who satisfied primal instincts that neither of them could take care of on their own. Two guys having sex with no strings attached, despite the fact that every time they met up, every time they had sex, Steve felt his himself falling more and more in love with Tony with each passing day.

“Hey, we’re here,” Tony’s normally loud voice came out low and intimately quiet. Steve looked down at the man and realized that Tony was watching at him with eyes Steve had only seen in the bedroom. Tony licked his lips and Steve’s mouth immediately went dry. Steve could hear the heavy thump of his heartbeat in his ears as the blood in his veins thrummed with a force like a volcano.

Steve closed his eyes and leaned forward to press his lips against Tony’s but the sudden jerk from the brakes stopped him in his tracks.

The car brakes squeaked as the vehicle rolled to a stop. Tony rocked with the car as he placed the flower behind Steve’s headrest. With the back of his hand, he casually brushed down Steve’s suit and straightened his tie.

“You ready?” asked Tony, gravitating back to his side of the limo as he straightened his jacket.

Steve nodded silently, words failing him as his heart beat like a racehorse. There were words forming on his tongue, but for the life of him, Steve could not figure out what they were. Whatever it was, they were important

The second that Tony placed his hand on the door handle, Steve knew the word he wanted to say. “Wait.” His hand shot out from its warm spot on the leather seat. His fingers wrapped around Tony’s wrist, pulling the omega’s attention back to Steve.

Tony’s hand froze on the handle. He looked at Steve, then down at their hands, and then back up to Steve.

Steve was panting hard, the words threatening to dry up on his tongue. With a nervous gulp, he swallowed the anxiety and pushed on. “I want to kiss you.”

Tony blinked, confusion written across his face.

“Please,” begged Steve. Each breath filtered in and out of his chest so fast, Steve felt as if he would run out of air.

Tony let out a heavy sigh. His head rolled toward the window and the cameras flashing outside the tinted glass. “Steve, I don’t think this is a good time to have sex.”

“I’m not asking you for sex. I’m just asking for a kiss,” pleaded Steve. He squeezed Tony’s wrist, grounding himself in the moment.

Tony didn’t answer.

“Tony,” Steve’s voice cracked with desperation. “Can you just look at me?” With a careful hand, Steve reached out and cupped the far side of Tony’s jaw. With gentle fingers, he turned Tony’s head around so they were once again face to face.

“Steve.” Tony sounded so distraught, as if just saying Steve’s name caused him unbearable torment. “I don’t think … We need to stop before...”

“Shh,” Steve assured the omega, running his thumb down the back of Tony’s smooth hand. “Think later,” he said, closing the omega’s eyes with gentle fingers. Steve tilted his head and leaned forward, knowing that their lips would mesh like lost pieces of a puzzle. “Kiss now.”

The heavy rap on the blacked-out window was the only warning they received before the door was flung open and bright flashes of light from photographers filled the back seat.

Steve bared his teeth and let out a low growl. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Who the hell did these people think they were? He and Tony were having a moment and these greedy vultures had to go and ruin it.

Tony placed a strong hand against Steve’s rumbling chest. Steve jolted back, coming to his senses.

“Behave yourself,” Tony warned the alpha. “Now is not the time and place to be acting like this.”

Steve felt his metaphorical tail drop between his legs. “Sorry.”

Tony nodded, accepting the apology. “We’re talking about this later,” he said, stabbing his words into Steve’s chest with a poignant finger.

The crowd called for Tony with thunderous applause. Tony turned toward the crowd and waved from under the protective shadow of the car. With beautiful grace that Steve had come to envy, Tony stepped out of the vehicle, pulling Steve with him. Begrudgingly, Steve followed suit without complaint.

 

* * *

 

 

“Anthony!” a too-loud voice called across the extravagantly decorated hall. A familiar yet forgettable face strutted toward them with all the grace and cunning of a rat. “Long time no see.” Justin Hammer swaggered up with a fake friendliness Steve had seen too many times on Tony’s face during press conferences.

“Justin, how have you been? Last time I heard, you were in jail.” Tony greeted the man with an equally strained smile. Justin offered Tony a hand, but Tony’s fingers stayed right where they were on his whisky glass.

When Tony didn’t take the peace offering, Justin played off the offense as if it were no big deal.

“Well, what can I say?” he said with a cocky smile. “My natural, charming, superior alpha self made it hard for the judge to keep me away from my adoring fans.”

“Oh, no doubt,” said Tony with a heavy layer of sarcasm. “I can barely see you over the throng of fan girls you keep in tow.”

Steve snorted into his champagne glass. Justin’s smile faltered.

“You know Anthony, if I were a lesser man, I might actually take offense to that.”

“Well, your net worth is very much less than mine, so there’s no argument as to who’s the lesser man,” Tony said, taking a loud sip of his drink.

“Tony,” warned Steve.

“What?” The ‘he deserved it’ was implied.

“Where are my manners?” Justin said, switching his focus to Steve. “Captain Rogers, always a pleasure.”

“Mister Hammer,” Steve said, shaking the man’s hand while keeping his voice confident and professional. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”

“A slight oversight, most likely,” Justin said with a wave of his champagne glass. “I think _someone_ forgot to mail me an invitation.”

“Oh, I remembered,” Tony said as Justin took a drink from his champagne flute. “I personally wrote your home address too, the city dump.”

“Tony!” admonished Steve.

“Oh don’t ‘Tony’ me,” the man snapped.

“You should be ashamed of yourself Anthony,” Justin said, stepping in. “Is that any way to speak to your alpha?”

At that point, Tony looked like he was ready to blow a gasket. “Excuse me!”

“You must be mistaken,” Steve said, trying to cover Tony’s outburst. “We’re not-” Steve wasn’t sure how to finish.

Justin, however, connected the dots on his own. “Oh, I’m sorry,” he said with fake sincerity. “You two just made a giant show coming in together, and smelling like _that_! One would just assume-”

A cold chill ran down Steve’s spine. He rolled back his shoulders and placed a hand on Tony’s shoulder, gently moving so he stood like a brick wall between Justin and Tony. “Like what?” growled Steve.

“Steve, leave it,” warned Tony.

“Oh come on Anthony,” Hammer said, using Tony’s name like they were best pals. “Flaunting your unbound omega scent everywhere you go. I’m surprised no one’s taken your dripping hole out back and fucked you like the slutty omega you are.”

The hairs on the back of Steve’s neck bristled as he bit down on some choice words.

“In fact,” Hammer said, adjusting his tie. “I’m sure it can be arranged. As long as you get down on all fours and beg for it like a bitch in heat, I won’t complain. My alpha knot is of decent girth. I’m sure it can satisfy a slut like you.”

Steve let out a deep growl. “You need to back off right-”

Tony cut him off, physically moving himself between the two alphas. “Steve, I need you to get me another scotch on the rocks. I’m running low.”

“But-”

Tony shoved the crystal tumbler into Steve’s gut. About an inch of amber liquid sloshed around at the bottom. “Please and thank you.” He turned his attention to Justin, putting on the fakest smile Steve had ever seen. “Justin, I think we’re long overdue for that little chat you’ve been waiting on about the Warren contract. Shall we?”

Justin smiled. “I can’t think of a better time.”

Without another word to Steve, Tony walked away with Justin in tow. Not knowing what else to do (Tony clearly didn’t want him around) Steve skulked over to the bar.

He dropped the glass on the gleaming counter, resisting the urge to smash the drink into the bar. “One scotch on the rocks. Make sure it’s the good stuff,” he muttered to the bartender.

The bartender nodded and took the glass away without another word.

“Lover’s spat?” asked Natasha, gliding up beside Steve and casually leaning against the bar.

Steve let out an exasperated huff. “It’s complicated,” he said, resisting the urge to run a hand through his hair in frustration.

“Well, whatever you did, you’re in the proverbial dog house. And just so you know, my couch is off limits,” said Clint as he joined the pair.

Steve groaned. He really didn’t want to do this right now.

“Hey, come on, lay off him guys,” chided Bucky as he joined the party around the bar. “Didn’t your mothers teach you better?”

Clint laughed. “I was orphaned and Tasha was kidnapped at birth, so no, they didn’t.”

“Guys, can we focus?” Natasha asked in a terse voice.

Clint shrugged. “Sorry,” he said, sounding very much not sorry.

Bucky leaned both elbows on the counter, mirroring Steve’s posture. “What did you do this time?” he asked, voice free of judgment.

“I don’t know,” Steve said with a heavy sigh. “Things were going just fine until Hammer showed up.”

“Yeah, saw that. Real show of dominance,” Clint said into his drink.

“Thank you! I thought I was the only one who saw it.” said Steve, relieved that someone agreed with him.

“Just look at him,” glowered Steve. He looked over his shoulder just in time to see Justin run his hand along Tony’s shoulders. “Tony’s not showing the slightest interest and yet Justin is all over him. It’s disgusting.”

A looked passed between Clint and Natasha. “You do know Clint meant you, right?”

“Me?” Steve asked in shock.

Clint nodded. “Acting like a complete textbook alpha. Don’t believe me? Let me count the ways: growling, posturing, increased aggression, general possessive behavior, I could go on for days.”

“No,” dismissed Steve. “That’s ridiculous. I’m not… We’re not... We’re just friends.”

“Friends?” Natasha asked, raising a questioning eyebrow.

“Yeah, you know, really good friends.” Steve winced a little. The excuse sounded cardboard-fake even to his ears.

“Then why am I sensing a _but_ in there?” asked Bucky.

“There is no _but_ ,” Steve insisted. “Can you just drop it already?”

“Nope,” said Clint, popping the end of the word like a bubble in the champagne glass. Both Bucky and Natasha gave him mirrored looks of ‘I know you better than this and don’t believe you.’

Steve groaned. He ducked his head trying to make the peer pressure go away, but it wouldn’t. “I guess,” he quietly admitted as he tried to hide his face. “If you really want to split hairs, we sometimes get together and have sex.”

“Ha!” laughed Clint in triumph. “I knew it! Pay up Nat.”

Bucky gave a reassuring pat to Steve’s back as Natasha reached into her black clutch purse.

“I guess congratulations are in order then,” she said as she passed a wad of bills to Clint.

“Could you not!” snapped Steve, snatching the bills away and stuffing the evidence in his pocket. “It’s not like that. We’re just friends who occasionally fuck. Just am alpha and an omega having consensual, adult, sex. That’s it. That’s the relationship we’ve established between ourselves, nothing more.”

Silence fell over the trio. Steve’s heart threatened to beat out of his chest as he gasped for air. Bucky shifted uncomfortably in his seat, his face a mix of emotions so complicated, Steve couldn’t read what his best friend was thinking.

“Oh Steve,” Natasha sighed.

“What!?”

“Does he know?”

“Know what?” he demanded.

“You know,” Clint said with an encouraging nudge. “That you, you know, _like_ like him. That you want to be more than friends.”

Steve bristled. Had his affection for Tony been that obvious?

The bartender came back with a glass of whiskey and Steve grabbed the glass before the man could set it down on the napkin. “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said curtly.

Steve turned to leave the bar, but a strong hand grabbed his arm and held him back. “For the love of God, get your head out of your ass Stevie,” hissed Bucky.

Steve glared at the steel hand around his arm. He was seconds away from ripping Bucky a new one. “My head is out of my ass.”

“No, it ain’t.”

“Yes, it is,” insisted Steve, pulling his arm out of Bucky’s cold grasp. “Why would Tony ever want to be in a relationship with me? He’s suave, rich, famous, and can talk circles around me any day. Do you think Tony would want to be in a relationship with me when he’s like _that_ and I’m like _this_?”

Clint almost spit out the champagne as he held back a laugh. “Wow Steve. If you ever retire the shield, you should try your hand as a wordsmith.”

Natasha hit Clint upside the head. “Shut up.”

“Look,” hissed Bucky, pulling Steve away from the prying eyes of the party guests as they tittered behind their backs. “Do you want to be more than fuck buddies with Stark?”

Steve was caught off guard. “What the hell are you-”

“Just answer the question Stevie,” Bucky said, cutting Steve off before he could make any more objections.

Steve opened his mouth to say _no_ , but the word caught in his throat. “I mean,” Steve stuttered, the truth forming on his tongue before he could come up with a better answer. “I wouldn’t be opposed to the idea.”

Clint snorted from his spot at the bar. “Well that clears things up.”

Steve blushed. “Shut up.”

Bucky ignored the archer. “Okay, next question. Do you think Tony would be opposed to being more than fuck buddies?”

That answer was easy. “Of course, he would. He’s-”

“No,” interrupted Bucky. “Really think about this, Steve.”

Steve frowned. “I am thinking.”

“No, you’re not. ” Buck jabed a pointed finger straight into Steve’s chest. “That’s your insecurities talking from when you were a runt and you got rejected by all those pretty girls back in the day.”

“You are ridiculous,” Steve said with a shake of his head.

“And you’re a strategist,” Bucky countered, not willing to let this one go. “You look at the information from the field and plan accordingly. So, I’ll ask again, has he showed you any inclination that he’s not interested in what you’re offering?”

Steve flushed at the innuendo, his brain immediately falling into the gutter. He remembered how Tony lavishingly gave Steve head at the back of a supply closet at SHIELD a few weeks ago. The loud noises Tony made as he sucked Steve all the way down to his large alpha knot. The way the sound echoed off the drywall only made Steve thrust his cock deeper down Tony’s throat. The low, seductive voice Tony used to praise Steve and rub him raw with desperation in ways that set Steve’s entire body on fire.

“I mean,” he said, fighting down the blush and budding boner in his pants. “Not really.”

“Are you certain?”

Steve nodded. “But, um,” Steve hemmed and hawed, trying to inconspicuously cover his face with his hand. “He did seem annoyed that I was wearing a flower in the car, and he came to the party smelling like an omega instead of a beta. I think it’s because I told him I like his scent, but, you know, I’m not sure.”

Bucky frowned in confusion. “I thought he was a beta.”

“He smells like one, but trust me, he’s an omega,” Steve reassured Bucky, remembering about how perfectly wrung out and beautiful Tony was when his omega channel clamped down on Steve’s knot. “He just hides it because, you know, media frenzy, bad for business with stubborn, old, white alphas on the board, saying it’s bad for stocks, institutionalized gender discrimination and inequality.”

A smug smile formed on Bucky’s face. “And he came here, to one of the most public events of the year, smelling like that.”

“Now see, Hammer said the exact same thing-”

“Because Tony’s trying to make a fucking statement you dumbass,” Bucky said, gently smacking Steve upside the head. “It’s his way of saying ‘I want you and your fantastic alpha knot’ without making a big deal about it.”

“But that doesn’t seem like Tony at all,” Steve said, utterly confused. “Wouldn’t he make a deal about it? You saw the footage about how he outed himself as Iron Man.”

Bucky nodded. “Yeah, he would. Or maybe he took your old man sensibilities into consideration and is coming out quietly because he likes you and doesn’t want to upset you.”

“Oh.” The increase of pillow talk over the past few weeks, the offer to go shopping together, agreeing to be Steve’s date for the Christmas party, and the realization hit Steve like a train.

“Oh!”

Bucky gave him a playful punch in the shoulder. “Yeah _oh_. Took you long enough to figure it out.”

Steve ducked his head down in embarrassment. It felt like his cheeks were on fire. “I … uh… guess I better get-” He couldn’t finish. His tongue was all tied up and the palms of his hands were beginning to sweat.

“Go get your prince,” Natasha said, coming up behind Steve.

“Better hurry up,” teased Clint, only a few steps behind the assassin. “Don’t want to turn back into a pumpkin when the clock strikes midnight.”

With a nod of thanks and a nervous gulp, Steve crossed the floor to Tony.

He was going to do it. Steve was going to tell Tony how he felt about him. And if Tony dumped him and called off their arrangement, well, he’d miss the sex, but never let it be said that Steve wasn’t a reckless risk-taker.

The crowd of people between them parted like the Red Sea as Steve crossed the floor, but Steve didn’t notice. His attention was solely on Tony. The omega looked so captivating against the gold and silver decor of the ballroom, it hurt Steve’s lungs just to look at him.

His heart sounded like a drum in his ears. It was so loud it drowned out everything except Tony’s calming, tender voice. Shoulders rolled back and head held up with pride, he cleared his throat.

Tony turned to look at him, and it was as if time slowed to a halt. “Steve?” Tony blinked, his thick, long lashes revealing eyes filled with anticipation.

God, just one word and Steve felt breathless.

“Can we help you with something, Captain?” asked Justin with a cocky side smile. He placed a possessive arm around Tony’s shoulders. “Make it quick. We’re in the middle of a very important meeting.”

Steve nodded, never taking his eyes off of Tony for a second. “Yeah,” he said. “I’ll make it quick.”

With both hands, he grabbed Tony’s shirt, tugged him out of Justin’s grasp, and pulled the omega into a kiss.

At first, Tony’s lips were tense under Steve’s touch. Then, with a satisfied moan, they melted open and Tony began kissing Steve back. Steve wanted to keep it short and chaste, but Tony was not having it. Tony pulled Steve in deeper than they had ever gone before, exchanging feelings that had only been thought, never said.

All Steve could do was hold on, wrapping his arms around Tony’s hips, holding them close together as Tony wove his fingers into Steve’s hair. His heart swelled. Steve wanted to rub up against the omega and claim him for all the world to see, but before he could do that, Tony broke the kiss.

As they pulled away from each other, they offered up tender nips on the lips, a quiet promise for more to come.

Tony slowly opened his eyes and Steve thought he saw stars light up in the brown of the omega’s irises. “About damn time,” Tony smirked, his voice as raspy and his lips swollen.

“How… how long have you been waiting?” Steve asked, entranced by the joy in Tony’s eyes.

“Since you first asked me to fuck you three months ago,” he said, playfully twisting a lock of Steve’s hair around his finger. “Remember that?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, you asked to bottom instead. What about it?”

“Not sure if you know this, but I don’t bottom for just anyone,” Tony said, the tips of his ears turning pink with embarrassment.

“But you’re an omega. It’s only natural that they bottom,” Steve said, a confused look on his face. “Besides, you bottom for me all the time.”

“It’s because you’re special, dingus,” Tony said with a playful chuckle. He gave Steve an affectionate bop on the nose. “I bottom for you because I like you.”

Steve’s mouth dropped. “Oh,” was all he could say.

“Thought you would have realized by now.”

Steve blushed, pulling the omega closer so Tony could feel the heat of his eager, alpha cock through his pants. “Guess I’m a little slow in that department.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’ve been actively trying to get your attention these last few days, otherwise we’d be playing chicken for years.”

“When did you-”

“Since I visited Aunt Peggy,” Tony said, mischievous twinkle in his eye. “Wanted to get her permission to steal her alpha since you weren’t making any efforts to woo me outside the bedroom.”

Suddenly, everything made sense. “The car sex in the parking lot.”

Tony hummed with contentment. “I call it _victory_ sex myself.”

“Excuse me,” butted in Justin, placing a firm hand on Steve’s shoulder as if to shake the man down. “I hate to break up the party but-”

Steve growled. He knocked away Justin’s hand and pulled Tony closer so Hammer couldn’t get anywhere near the omega.

Justin stepped back, aghast and horrified at the aggressive display. “Hey!” he yelled like a child throwing a tantrum. “I was here first!”

“Um... Justin,” cautioned Tony. “I would _really_ think long and hard about what you’re doing. Getting between an alpha and his omega is never a good thing. Plus, you’ve read Steve’s file. You know what he can do if you get on his bad side.”

Justin stuttered, trying to find some sort of come back, but he came up empty. Justin may be an alpha and Tony may be an omega, but Justin wasn't stupid. Tony had already made up his mind as to who would be his mate and it wasn't going to be Justin.

Eventually, Justin conceded. He scowled and stomped away from the pair like a toddler throwing a very loud tantrum.

A smug smile spread across Tony’s face. “Come on. Let’s go,” Tony said pulling Steve toward the exit. “I’m starting to get hard and I don’t think you want to plug my wet hole in the middle of the ballroom floor.”

“No,” admitted Steve. “But I know you’d like it. Scandalize the one percent while giving the media the middle finger, I know you love it.”

“What can I say?” Tony laughed. “I’m a little kinky like that and I like to show off what’s mine.”

With a quick flick of his wrist, Steve pulled Tony into a dark corner, away from prying eyes, and kissed the omega silly. “God, I love you,” he rasped.

Tony smirked. “And I love you,” he whispered back.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me on my tumbler and see all the shit I reblog. [[link]](http://miniblackraven.tumblr.com/)


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